The Reading Rainbow With The Doors

Or Jimmy Fallon.

The Latest Libertarian Voice

Gary Johnson a better pick in the USA.

I don't agree with the entire libertarian position but it's a lot more sane than the stuff we're witnessing in North America.

Can Johnson continue the liberatarian push?

Intelligence Community v. White House

This is bad.

Real bad.

Samuel Jackson is the one that needs to wake the fuck up.

Taking bets. Who will the administration blame?

***

Mind you, FDR knew an attack on Pearl Harbor was imminent.

So it goes.

***

Wow. With all that's happened and the U.S. still wants to send aid to Egypt?

Par for the course for America supporting dictatorial regimes of all kinds but the timing of it seems strange.

I know Obama sees this as a "bump in the road" and believes the big picture will deliver democracy in the region so providing cash is a safe bet, but really, I'm not so sure. The trend (and history) is against this.

It is true, usually, after the fall of a political system known to a country leaves a gap that usually ushers in a nationalist type of party in power to "build up" the nation. However, can we truly believe the Muslim Brotherhood is a bridge to this future? Moreover, the logic we've seen regarding a low-level video-clip few people have seen or care about and how it's been received further suggests this region is far, far away from accepting a free democracy.

Which makes me wonder, is secularism a feature necessary to form a democracy as Turkey did?

As long as Islam remains, well, Islam. Democracy is a no-go.

***

Quick word on Harper not addressing the UN. It doesn't bother me much. The UN is toothless and given to a bunch of yahoos. The patience run that asylum. To me, Harper's stance is a principled one. Why humour an organization that votes in nations with such heinous human rights abuses that if they were human they'd get the death penalty in some places.

Nah. Harper should stick to what he believes on this one. If the next leader feels the UN is crucial to Canada's stance in world affairs (the punch above your weight theory) so be it. For now, I'm cool with ignoring it.

Carolla On You Didn't Build That

I agree with him.

It just didn't rub me well either.

PQ Don't Dream; They Make Nightmares

Roughly, 25% of Quebecers work for the government. 10% are on welfare and another 10% on CSST. 45% of your population is not working or in the private sector.

No wonder the PQ and QS (and their banana republic financial idiocy) get about 35% of the popular vote. Many Quebecers will never have a shot at real wealth or own anything. So, "poigne les riches" resonates with them.

Quebec's population is 7.9 million of which, what, 3.5 million make up the labour force? Deduct 875 000 from the 3.5 and you're left with 2.6 million. Add we're one of the least productive province on a per capita basis and are a "have not" provine, and it's not surprising Quebec is one of the most indebted region in North American and one of the most heavily taxed.

Our economic outlook is not good.

But let's tax the "rich." Let's make more things "free."

Let's make an example of the productive by squeezing every damn remaining cent to support the 45%. Only in a left-wing mind can think bringing capital gains to 75% as intelligent and considering people making $130 000 as "rich." They're already taxed to the tilt.

How stupid are they? We're thinking of building a cottage but we'd be fools to do so now. Vermont beckons. Why should we give the government 75% of our gains? Already 50% is outrageous if not immoral. Would the government kick in 75% if we incurred losses to cover us? OF COURSE NOT.

Instead of encouraging people to aim to make $130 000 (already at nearly 50%!) we basically discourage it by eroding wealth through excessive taxation.

We don't even celebrate success; we stomp on it to ensure it is reminded the collective is paramount.

The PQ must be tossed out on its sad archaic ass...not along cultural or linguistic lines. Bur for basic financial reasons and for the true betterment of all Quebecers. We deserve non-divisive governance predicated on advancing our society to the full extent of its potential.

And these people think they can lead an independent Quebec?

/Krusty the Klown groan.

Egypt Laughably And Absurdly Ask Obscure Video Maker Be Extradited

From CBS. Best comment:

"The film itself (at least the "trailer" - which is all anybody has actually seen) is a piece of badly-dubbed crud, and shouldn't even be dignified with the term "film"!

That being said however, we need to make it CLEAR to the Egyptian government, and to anybody else who might be listening, that we - as a nation - will not tolerate having our citizens "charged" for the exercise of their First-Amendment rights within our own borders.

Unless the Egyptian government withdraws these charges, they should immediately lose ALL American funding. As far as I am concerned, anybody who believes differently is not a good American, and I won't even waste my time arguing with such traitors!"

Fucken-Amen. I hope Obama doesn't act weak on this one.

Anyone, and I mean anyone who feels otherwise, is plain wrong.

Obama Has Used The 'T' Word; Death Panels As Long As Liberals Sign Off On Them; Obama's New Normal Unacceptable

Not "tits." Sheesh.

Conservatives like to paint Obama as being aloof with Israel while refusing to use the word terrorism.

One commentator asserted Obama "can't bring himself to say it."

From the Associated Press:

"We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel's destruction. We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by past agreements."

He said this while (rightly) criticizing Jimmy Carter for meeting with Hamas. Putz.

***

In the "Miserable little rats" section of this blog we present Steven Rattner and this opening paragraph in the opinion pages of the NYT:

"Well, maybe not death panels, exactly, but unless we start allocating health care resources more prudently — rationing, by its proper name — the exploding cost of Medicare will swamp the federal budget."

WO!

So, Sarah Palin was right all along?

Of course, that's exactly what it was. Any good Canadian will tell you that. The thing is, very little people know about it until they get sick and then you have to fight with the bureaucracy for, erm, your life.

***

A liberal family member who shall remain nameless pulled this classic line in an emotional response to criticism directed at Obama by Jeff Jacoby on the Dennis Miller Show:

"Don't these people understand Obama's policies will take 25 years to work!"

I paraphrase.

Implied of course is that he's a visionary. We're all 'visionaries' in some way over a generation.

Funny, when I pointed out that it's argued Iraq is a long-term work in progress, that didn't "count."

Liberal-progressives. Simply out to lunch.

***

And finally la piece de resistance....

An article in the WSJ titled "As good as it gets"  posted in full here.

Bob Schieffer: "The fact is, unemployment is up. It is higher than when [President Obama] came to office, the economy is still in the dump. Some people say that is reason enough to make a change."
Bill Clinton:"It is if you believe that we could have been fully healed in four years. I don't know a single serious economist who believes that as much damage as we had could have been healed."
CBS's "Face the Nation," September 23, 2012

Well, let's see. We can think of several serious people who said we could heal the economy in four years. There's Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Christina Romer, Jared Bernstein, Mark Zandi, and, most importantly, President Obama himself.

Mr. Obama told Americans in 2009 that if he did not turn around the economy in three years his Presidency would be "a one-term proposition." Joe Biden said three years ago that the $830 billion economic stimulus was working beyond his "wildest dreams" and he famously promised several months after the Obama stimulus was enacted that Americans would enjoy a "summer of recovery."

That was more than three years ago.

In early 2009 soon-to-be White House economists Ms. Romer and Mr. Bernstein promised Congress that the stimulus would hold the unemployment rate below 7% and that by now it would be 5.6%. Instead the rate is 8.1%. The latest Census Bureau report says there are nearly seven million fewer full-time, year-round workers today than in 2007. The labor participation rate is the lowest since 1981.

So it has gone with nearly every prediction the President has made about where the economy would be today. Mr. Obama promised that the deficit would be cut in half in four years, but the fiscal 2012 deficit (estimated to be above $1 trillion) will be twice the 2008 deficit ($458 billion).

Mr. Obama said that his health-care plan would "cut the cost of a typical family's premium by up to $2,500 a year," but premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage have gone up $2,370 since 2009, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

He said that the linchpin for a growing economy would be renewable energy investment, and he promised to "create five million new jobs in solar, wind, geothermal" energy. Mr. Obama did invest some $9 billion in green energy, but his job estimate was off by at least a factor of 10 and today many solar and wind industry firms are fighting bankruptcy. The growth in domestic U.S. energy production that he now takes credit for has come almost entirely from the fossil fuels his Administration has done so much to obstruct.

There's nothing unusual about candidates making grandiose promises that don't come true. And it's a White House tradition to blame one's predecessor when things don't get better. (Usually these Presidents end up one-termers.)

The bad faith wasn't then. It's now. Mr. Obama really believed that government spending would unleash a robust recovery in employment and housing—an "economy built to last." Now that this hasn't happened and with the Congressional Budget Office predicting a possible recession for 2013, Team Obama claims these woeful results were the best that could have been expected.

The problem with this line is that every President who has inherited a recession in modern times has done better. (See nearby table.) Under Mr. Obama, measured on the basis of jobs, GDP growth and incomes, this has been by far the meekest recovery from the past 10 recessions.

When George W. Bush was elected, he inherited a mild recession from Mr. Clinton amid the bursting of the dot-com bubble, some $7 trillion of wealth eviscerated. Nine months later came the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet by 2003 the economy was growing by more than 3% and eight million jobs were created over the next four years.

The Administration and its acolytes claim that the nature of the 2008 financial collapse was different from past recessions, and that it can take up to a decade to restore growth after such a financial crisis. Economist Michael Bordo rebuts that claim with historical economic evidence nearby.
In reality, the biggest difference between this recovery and others hasn't been the nature of the crisis, but the nature of the policy prescriptions. Mr. Obama's chief anti-recession idea was a near trillion-dollar leap of faith in the Keynesian "multiplier" effect of government spending. It was the same approach that didn't work in the 1930s, didn't work in the 1970s, didn't work in 2008, and didn't work in such other nations as Japan. It didn't work again in 2009.

Ronald Reagan also inherited an economy loaded with problems. The stock market had been flat for 12 years, inflation rates neared 14%, and mortgage rates almost 20%. The recession he endured in 1981-82 to cure inflation sent unemployment to 10.8%, higher than Mr. Obama's peak of 10%. But the business and jobs recovery by early 1983 was rapid and lasted seven years.

Reagan used tax-rate cuts, disinflationary monetary policy and deregulation to reignite growth—more or less the opposite of the Obama policy mix. Liberals tried to explain the Reagan boom that they said would never happen by arguing that there was nothing unusual about the growth spurt after such a deep recession. So why didn't that happen this time?

When campaigning to be President in 1960, John F. Kennedy denounced slow growth under Eisenhower and Nixon and said "We can do bettah." Growth was 7.2% in 1959 and 2.5% in 1960. Since the recession ended under Mr. Obama, growth has been 2.4% in 2010, 1.8% in 2011 and, after Thursday's downward revision for the second quarter, 1.7% in 2012.

Mr. Obama is running for re-election trying to convince Americans that an economy limping at less than 2% growth, 8% unemployment, real incomes down 5.7% since the recovery began, and deficits of more than $1 trillion is the best we could achieve. We liked it better when he stood for hope and change.
Some comments:

-"...the Republicans were voted into power in the House in late 2010 in a LANDSLIDE election up and down the federal and state ballots specifically to STOP Obama and the Democrats from continuing what they were doing during all of 2009 and 2010. The people wanted it stopped, and the Republicans have stopped it..."

Exactly. The system was designed this way and worked accordingly. Americans didn't like what Obama is up to. So they strung a leash on him.

Other comments refuting this comment:

"Four years ago, the House was controlled by Democrats. Since then, the Republicans have taken over, and they’re doing what they can to keep THEIR promise of making Obama a one-term president, to the exclusion of all other government business. In fact they’ve been so hell-bent on it that the U.S.’s credit rating was lowered because of the GOP congress obstructing government business, using tactics like threatening not to make payments on the U.S. debt.

I’ll bet that if the Democrats controlled Congress in the year our credit rating was lowered, then government business would get done, Obama could keep his promises, and our credit rating would not get lowered.

But, as Rumsfeld would say, we work with the Congress we’re given.

And there’s no doubt that the GOP leadership there is a leadership of ignorance. And there’s no doubt that ignorance is as ignorance does, I promise."

Responses:

-"The GOP House passed budgets in 2010 ande 2011, had the Senate and President done what was right and passed these budgets the Debt fight never would have happened. Correct me if I am wrong, but the President put a budget forward in both years....how many votes did he get....let's see...0 in the House and 0 in the Senate."
Unfortunately, for your arguement these facts do not seem to fit."

-"In the 2 years that the Dems had majorities and filibuster proof majorities, they passed every thing that this administration wanted!! Stimulus, Healthcare, Frank-Dodd, etc. and none of it worked as promised. In fact everything they did was worse than than what was already there!!"

-The House has been passing bills, the Democrat leader in the Senate refuses to pick them up. That would be obstruction, though not the obstruction the Dems claim all the time. Voter's did not vote Republicans into the House to have them be yes men for Obama.
The only ones that want one party rule for ever and ever, with it of course being their party, are Democrats."

***

I read in the same thread that Rush Limbaugh asked the other day the same question I posed earlier this month. Namely, if Obama wins and inherits a bad economy, will he blame himself?

For the record, I said it first!

Maybe Limbaugh reads this awesome blog.

Heh.

Not sure if this is a good or bad thing though.

Canada Doing Well In Science

Very interesting.

With less than 0.5 per cent of the world’s population, Canada produces 4.1 per cent of the world’s research papers and nearly 5 per cent of the world’s most frequently cited papers.

In fact, science in Canada is doing great.

All under Harper's unreasonable watch.

.

The Wrong People Prevail

Fuck!

Does anyone defend free speech anymore?

Link Of Interest - Jeff Jacoby

Interesting story on how the Boston Globe "purged" conservative journalist Jeff Jacoby.

I Am Shocked!

It took an inquiry to reveal what any Italian-Montrealer knew already: Construction and the mob go hand in hand. How they dole out contracts, how the cash moves etc. The majority of what I heard was told to me as far back as the 80s. It was open discussion at most local bars really.

The thing I find outrageous is the Mayor and his minions claim to be shocked.

What a bunch of bull shit.

Either they're the biggest bandits in town or the biggest naifs.

Take your pick.

Note to The Montreal Gazette: Modernize and open your articles to comments.

Strongmen

Heard last week on the radio:

"The Prime Minister's powers are becoming more and more Presidential."

An NDPer said this. An NDPer never shies away from taking a shot at America. They're the progressive and spiritual guiders of "At least we're not American!"

Perhaps it is but this has been happening for some time now. I don't know exactly when but it became apparent under the Chretien Dynasty. A paper tiger dynasty that capitalized on a divided conservative brand.

Here's the thing, the American system in theory is designed to have a weak President but the trend there has also seen Presidential powers expand almost uncontested. A strong Prime Minister is a feture of the Parliamentary system.

I think.

***

Speaking of the NDP. What is Mulcair's problem with Alberta? Outremont should be proud.

Not saying there aren't problems with oil sands but it does come off as divisive.

On TV Tonight: Pathetic Political Theater: Death OF Bat-Man And Freedom

You know, the Obama administration will like nothing better than to hang out to dry a U.S. citizen for a cheap video clip in connection to an irrational uprising in a part of the world that would riot even if a sock puppet insulted their prophet.

Seriously? Seriously? They're going to arrest this guy?

Absolutely the wrong message, if this is what they're pining for (after all, it is an election year) to send the Mid-East.

Land of the free my ass.

***

The state is the enemy of the state if you as me.

"THE US military has designated Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as enemies of the United States - the same legal category as the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban insurgency."
Yes, because the U.S. government was forthcoming on the Chris Stevens tragedy. Let's believe them.

I understand the security concerns, however, what about the saying "who will guard the guardians?" Right now, Wikileaks plays the part.

This is an assault on the First Amendment.

Alas, people don't care.

They care more about getting their splits of spoils from the state.

Comment:

"You know, progressives, over the last several decades you ridiculed the standards that gave us film footage of Elvis dancing from the torso up, obscenity trials against Henry Miller, theNaked Lunch, and Ulysses. You defended Mapplethorpe and you defended Piss Christ, and you defended Larry Flynt as I do. However, you are no longer in a position to ever do that again. Your guy, the one you put in the White House, the one you are going to vote for again, embraces an eighth century standard of blasphemy.

You are a fucking joke, Progressive America if you don't turn your backs on Obama's medieval ass now after this display of appeasement."

Quoted for truth. Progessives irritate me more than group of people.

The progs were right to defend the people mentioned in the quote. I watched Damned in the USA (back in the days in university when I was dating prog chicks), while I thought Mapplethorpe's art to be 'whatever' he had a right to express it. Period. Where I bolt is they have no right to PUBLIC money to do it.

Piss Christ was outrageously dumb (but iconic to others) but again, freedom of expression. Had it been done during Obama's term, I highly doubt we'd be getting:

"The future must not belong to those who would slander the Prophet of Islam" Jesus Christ." (From the UN speech - look it up).

I know in one of his appeasement speeches he added Jesus but my point is, had none of this happened, he wouldn't. As he should, since you know, we're a secular society.

***

But....in the midst of all this...

"The president's very pleased that the two sides have come together," and he added, "It's a great day for America....And kneel before Zod!"  Purple bold mine.

/Krusty the Klown groan.

Can the President do something about the MLB umps? I mean, how many first base calls can you blow!

America's Pop President; Obama The Better Businessman

FP explains:

"...One of the starring roles in each year's autumn pageant in New York goes by default to the president of the United States. Since the founding of the United Nations, he has been called "the most powerful man in the world." This naturally makes him the most important of the world's leaders. For this reason, President Barack Obama apparently decided to wedge in an appearance in front of the U.N. between his interview with Whoopi Goldberg and the crew at The View, his stop at the conference of America's true president-for-life, Bill Clinton, and other campaign-related appearances.

Obama's decision not to meet with other world leaders was brushed off by the White House with a "well, if he met with one he'd have to meet with 10" line.This of course implies that meeting with world leaders is actually really just a slippery slope leading to wasted time. There is no room in this defense (which, let's be honest, boils down to choosing Whoopi over Bibi) for the notion that something might be gained from meeting with these men or women. Which certainly suggests that the world's most important leader doesn't think much of his colleagues...."

***

The LA Times came in with this comical piece.

Only problem, Obama isn't and never was, a "businessman."

Stretching...stretching...stret----ching....

Elizabeth Warren Is Making Finding The Fire Easy

Either this is one big smear job or she's some piece of work.

Recall Warren (shrewdly) made dough off foreclosed homes, claimed to be the "first nursing working mother to take a bar exam in New Jersey" (in the 70s I might add), and further claims to be part Cherokee of which she never benefited from AA.

Whew.

That's a lotta baggage.

There's more?

"...Warren worked with the company on a case where it was seeking protection against future claims, but part of the agreement reached in the case would have unlocked a $500 million settlement fund for asbestos victims..."

“Elizabeth is a bankruptcy expert and has fought for years for a strong bankruptcy system that makes sure retirees, employees, victims, and others can demand payment from insolvent companies and get a fair shake,” Warren spokeswoman Alethea Harney said in the statement. “In the LTV steel case, there was never any question that coal miners and their surviving spouses would receive their full benefits under the Coal Act. This case involved bankruptcy principles and who would pay what into the fund.”

Nevertheless, Warren’s campaign has centered on her career of fighting for the so-called “little guy”– and so her representation of these corporations could appear to be, at least on the surface, at odds with that message. The challenge for Warren for the next six weeks will be to make sure that voters learn about the details of the cases.

Perception is king.

Still more?

Wow. I'm glad that's over now...

More?

Practicing without a license too?

"Look. We all need to calm down and take a deep breath.
This is Massachusetts, and it is not like she let a campaign worker drown in her car or wake up younger relatives or students to possibly date rape someone.
She merely failed to get a law license and a business license and attribute a Native American recipe to the New York Times and properly check whether she was 1/32nd Native American.
And there is no proof that she has committed academic plagiarism, copyright infringement, failed to pay business license/occupational license taxes, or failed, say, to report imputed income under the Applicable Federal Rate.
All we really know is that her opponent may have been an underwear model and she likes to talk about “whipping out her tits” while taking the New Jersey Bar Exam. OK? So, you see, there are libertines on both sides of the campaign. [And I freely admit that I would have scratched my balls during the Georgia Bar Exam had I known that such conduct was allowed. But, alas, we did not have the internet back then.].
And, she needs to be given credit for spawning Occupy Wall Street, so that a bunch of former college students who cannot or will not find work can do something with their time other than brood over the fact that they are drowning in student debt (that is very, very difficult to discharge in bankruptcy), so that Native Americans like her, who do understand the Bankruptcy Code can get paid by insurance companies to tie off asbestos claims and get paid $350,000 a year to teach one class at Harvard Law School. She needed the Wampum! Is that so wrong?"

More On Eltahawy

Discussion on Eltahawy at Volokh.

Large parts of it focus on the role of cops in this incidence. Notably, if they have to announce why they're arresting somebody. The answer is, for the most part, yes.

Even as my wife and I watched this vapid episode, she asked why the police just didn't tell her since it was so blatantly obvious. "Ma'am, we're arresting you for vandalizing." Logical enough.

The other thing brought up by my wife was it looked staged and there were moments in the footage that gave the impression it was. However, apparently she had announced on her twitter account she was planning this so people were ready with cameras. It was kinda staged.

Finally, that she did so arguing she was against "hate" is irrelevant and is a strawman against the illegal act of vandalizing property. I just hope the "Heckler's veto" doesn't take root here. She shouldn't prevail on any level lest freedom of speech be damaged. It simply would send the wrong cue to society.

It would further spare us from such dreadful intellectual gibberish as "advertising is NOT free speech, its (sic) paid speech, further separating the haves from the have nots."

And someone pays her for her opinions?

Some comments:

"I hesitate to defend this silly woman, but perhaps she is going off the quite common idea, even found in legal classifications, that crimes against property are not violent crimes, that such crimes are reserved only for crimes against persons."

"I would love to catch her in one of her more lucid moments and ask if it would be ok to spray paint something she owned in "non violent protest". Dunce."

In Other Italy News: Vatican Fan Of Dylan; Gelato Museum And Keeping The Sistine Chapel Open To The Public

The Vatican likes Dylan's latest album Tempest: "It's like biting into a baked cake made of excellent confection," said a review in Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

Always connecting everything to food.

Did I tell you the story of how I sipped espresso exclusive to the Vatican? I visited the SIAL in Paris in 2004 trying my hand at importing. I visited many company booths among them coffee producers. One of them was the exclusive distributor to the Vatican. It was, not surprisingly, outstanding. I forget the name of the company but they and Pellini remain the best coffee I've had, like, ever.

You can eat a lot of it because there's much less fat content than North American ice-cream - and less preservatives and sugar too given its usually made fresh and locally.

More proof Italy takes food more seriously than anyone else?

The gelato museum in Bologna (home of many communists, ahem), opens.

I swear. The gelato in Italy is beyond fucking great. A few Italian immigrants from Montreal have taken upon themselves to go back to the motherland to learn the art and bring it here. Montreal now has a few legitimate gelato makers. Of course, some places and companies shamelessly steal the "gelato" name only to sell crap.

Finally, closing or restricting access to The Sistine Chapel would be unfortunate, if not a loss for humanity.

"...Limiting the number of tourists accessing the Vatican Museum where the world-renowned Sistine Chapel is located would be unthinkable, according to Vatican Museums Director Antonio Paolucci...."

Depriving someone of its beauty would be a crime against humanism. All I know is when I walked into the chapel and looked up, the instant silence was deafening. It's just one of those majestic works of art that consumes people's thoughts and imagination. We knew we were in the presence of a remarkable achievement.

Dreadful Italy

Prosecutors are going after scientists for failing to predict earthquake.

Yet, when someone did warn...he was investigated.

Screwed in culo.

I wonder what kind of a negative effect this will have on science in Italy.






Passing the buck there looks like the Obama administration don't you reckon? Ha, ha.

Shocker: Contempt Of Court Charge Against Student

Whoever that student is good for him or her.

You still have to account for your actions Mr. Nadeau-Dubois. Once your actions impede the rights of other people, you have to answer for it.

That's liberty. If not, you have coercion.

And I personally don't buy "it was an opinion" line.

He was the militant face of the student protest.

***

I was thinking about this the other day. Clearly, I don't much sympathize with "free" education because it's not free. To suggest that it is is to basically say I owe the money to society for its "benefit."

Nothing in life is free. And I mean nothing. I see little value in my money being exprorpiated (redistributed) to students like Nadeau-Dubois. I never agreed with student unions when I was in school and I certainly don't respect unions of any kind as I grow older. My values aren't his and one isn't better than the other. So why should his vision prevail?

By all means, make education a ward of the state using tax dollars. Just don't expect me to support it. Unfortunately, being the imperfect democracy we live in, I may just have to be coerced into it.

My wife and I have invested in RESPs for my daughter from the day she was born. This plan will pretty much cover the costs of education in the future. The government and financial institutions have been educating people for over 15 years that the trend in education costs were increasing.

Is it my fault people don't plan for it?

Personally, I hope my daughter is bright and independent enough to never fall into the left-wing "red square" crowd. The best I can do is to yank her out of the public school system as soon as possible, put her in a very good private school and ship her to the States, out West or Ontario because there are no jobs in stagnant Quebec; especially for bright, entrepreneurial, multilingual people. Heck, a struggling USA is probably offers better prospects than Quebec.

Plus, I can't digest the PQ anymore.

***

Speaking of the PQ.

I didn't know J-F "Corrective Measures" Lisee was in charge of Anglos.

Gee. Let's ghettorize "les maudits Anglais!"

We did so well with Indian Affairs.

/wanking motion.

INT. DAY. Politician's office. T.C. sits on a chair with bread crumbs scattered around his feet as a dim light shines on his face. Lisee smokes as he listens.

T.C.: Thank you Master Angloman for taking the time to listen to my concern. I understand they may come as trivial in this most elegant of democracies but I nonetheless feel compelled to voice them.

Lisee: By all means, go on. We're hear to listen to our friends. You have one minute and you must then switch to French. It's only right you know.

T.C.: Much thank you. Thank you so much. My first request is if we could ease off the divisive language rhetoric. From where I sit, I don't see much of an issue until you guys go on the attack.

Lisee: Oh. Yeah. Hm. I'm gonna go with a no on that. Anything else?

T.C.: Ok. What about then, calling off the OLF hounds? I mean, does it not degrade the civil liberties of a minority group?

Lisee: Hm. Good question. But no can do.

T.C.: How about some funding for...

Lisee (nods).

T.C: Let's see...

Lisee: Time's up.

Points to sign. Parle moi en francais.

T.C.: I guess my time is up.

Lisee: Quoi?

T.C.: Right. Good-bye.

Lisee: I'll let that slide...

Act Of Vandalism Suppressing Free Speech Is Not Free Speech

Until today, I didn't know who Mona Eltahawy was. After what I saw, I think I'd like to keep it that way.

But perusing through Foreign Policy, I happen upon her little escapade in a NYC subway about an ad put up by Pamela Geller.

She (Ethaway) tweeted: been assault and my goal was non-protest & violent civil disobedience. I did not and do not want to hurt anyone.

Some assault. Cops handled it fine if you ask me. Because you don't like what you see doesn't give you the right to vandalize.

"...Geller later blogged her version of the pink spray paint spat, calling Eltahawy a "thug" and correctly predicting that "This criminal behavior and fascism will be lauded in Leftist circles." The flurry of celebratory tweets from Eltahawy's many Twitter followers following her arrest would seem to confirm Geller's fears...."

Par for the course for the left.

I think the PQ and Pauline Marois are a miserable bunch of tyrannical tribalists. However, I don't take a spray can to her posters because A) decorum prevents me from doing so, B) her right to express her views prevent me from doing so and C) it's against the fricken law. I should add D) it would be a waste of spray paint.

I digress.

Another tweet: is arrested for protesting against Anti-Muslim ad on NYC subway!.... this will make u furious!                 

Surely he jests. Love how they're trying to turn her into some sort of freedom fighter. Please.

Her reaction to being arrested reminded me of soccer players who commit obvious fouls and look at the ref screaming "what did I do?"

Her asking why she was being arrested was further inexcusable. Presumably, living in North America she damn well should know why she was arrested.

This officially worries me. The bigger picture here is will we defend our right to free speech?

Don't like the poster? Sing in front of it. Take out an ad next to it. Hand out fliers disputing it. What she did was sophmoric nonsense. She chose to use the tired tactic of silencing opponents. But if we give into this, we degrade our own commitment to freedom of thought and speech.

It's simple and Mona ought to know better.

***

As for the ad? I can see why people would be outraged; especially considering the source - though I don't think it was anti-Muslim per se as it was anti-jihadist. It's written as such. It basically called jihadists savages, not Muslims.

I think there's a difference. Still, it doesn't give a person the right to commit a crime.

At best, two wrongs don't make a right here.

Notable Deaths: Andy Williams And Sam The Record Man

Isn't Moon River the most recorded song in history?

***

Heading downtown to Sam the Record Man on Ste. Catherine street back in the day (for me the 80s) was a part of my musical journey.

Once, I was looking for an album they didn't have and the record guy suggested I go across the street into a non-descript building that had seen better days. Going up the stairs onto the second floor, I walked into a rickety room overtaken by vinyl records.

At the back sat semi-hunched and smoking the owner, an old Jewish man with a profound love of music. He help me find what I was looking for (The Doors Alive! She Cried) and other fascinating and rare recordings. I didn't have the money to buy all that I wanted. I regret never going back. I reckon he and the store, like STRM, are long gone.

Those were dem days.

Movie Clip Of The Day

Monty Python's Holy Grail...

Multiple Ecomomic Personalities

55 interesting facts about the American economy.

#41 reminded me about Italy.

"According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154 percent."

You know, they tend to put Italy in the PIIGS. Ostensibly, yeah, they may not look good but dig deeper and there's something more. Aside from actually being a major producing nation (unlike Greece, Portugal and to a lesser extent Spain), two very important facts to keep in mind.

Italy's debt is (mostly) owed to itself and the personal net worth (includes savings) in Italy is about $350 000. HUGE difference from here where we have negative savings.

A third factor, and is really a legendary point about the peninsula, is that Italy's black market is calculated to be anywhere between 35% and 60% of its GDP. Italy's GDP is slightly less than France and UK. Add back the black market it's closer to Germany.

Italy has cash. What it doesn't have is growth (and is a net importer of oil).

I guess the state has never really figured out how to gain the trust of the people(Italians are less likely to invest than other G7 members). Mattresses in Italy must be really, really heavy.

Pyramid Scheme Theory

Interesting stuff. All the stuff we've been reading about put into one.

"Since the recession, noted economists including Laurence Kotlikoff, a former member of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers, have come to similar conclusions.

Kotlikoff estimates the true fiscal gap is $211 trillion when unfunded entitlements like Social Security and Medicare are included.

However, while the debt crisis numbers are well known to most Americans, the economy hasn't suffered a major correction for almost 4 years.

So the questions remain: Is the threat of collapse for real? And if so, when?

A team of scientists, economists, and geopolitical analysts believes they have proof that the threat is indeed real - and the danger imminent.

One member of this team, Chris Martenson, a pathologist and former VP of a Fortune 300 company, explains their findings:

"We found an identical pattern in our debt, total credit market, and money supply that guarantees they're going to fail. This pattern is nearly the same as in any pyramid scheme, one that escalates exponentially fast before it collapses. Governments around the globe are chiefly responsible."

The Progressive Xenophobe And Student. Terrible Combo For Quebec

I think Watson and Delmar get it about right.

The PQ and its ilk along with all the little radical organizations are xenophobes. Any true, enlightened free-thinking liberal (and by liberal I mean in the classical sense; not the posers we see on TV), would concur.

Only irrational, paranoid, revisionist, nationalists would disagree.

They can piss in the wind all they want...but they ain't fooling anyone outside the lobster pot.

***

Oh, shocker. Students, emboldened by their moral victory, are now pushing for free tuition. It's the slippery slope easily predicted.

Their argument goes something like: Quebec sends money to Ottawa. Let's separate and keep that money and disperse it as we see fit including free tuition! Not only that, McGill gets 25% of provincial funding even though English mother-tongue only represents 8% of the population. Ergo, let's cut the budget of Quebec's only world renowned institution to size. Let's make it like, say, UQAM. Never mind that McGill is not exclusively open to Anglos. Among its attendees include French-Canadians and international students.

I tried. They make no sense.

All you twits who supported them. Enjoy the fall out.

When something is so irrational and immature, there's nothing one can really say. I'm afraid with the PQ in power, we'll be seeing a lot of sloppy socialist rhetoric.

What's next? Pay students to go to school?

As for McGill. I say give the middle finger and go private. It has a strong alumni (my wife and sister graduated from there) and it can easily attract students from anywhere. If one school can bolt away from the idiocy, it's McGill. Heck, even I'll give and I'm a Concordia graduate.

All I know is I wouldn't give a damn cent to 90% of the dolts I saw in University.

Lots of  "um" and "you know" and "like" illiterates who can't string a fucking creative sentence together infest the halls of post secondary education. We're pushing it too much now to the point of making it worthless.

Madonna Says Vote For The Black Muslim

Who knows if Madonna was being sarcastic or not.

What I do know is this was hilarious.

In both links (The Atlantic and Yahoo), comments are universally denouncing her stupidity.

Reminds me of the time when Chrissie Hynde said in concert "I hope the Muslims win!"

Nice.

The scolding brilliance of intellectualism is just too much for me!

Che vergogna.

***

Someone should point out to the pop-Kabbalist that Islam and Gay rights don't go hand in hand too well.

***

A comment I pulled out:

"I find the lefts reason for voting for obama in this election really interesting.
Their issues seem to be only homosexual sex, unlimited abortion, censorship of others views they find offense and more spending.
It appears it does not matter that 26,000,000 people are out of work, the debit has increased from $9 trillion to $16 trillion, the deficit from $380 billion to $1.7 trillion, food stamp recipients up 22%, uninsured up14%, homelessness up 20%, gasoline prices up from $1.89 average to $4.29 average, housing values down 35%, education cost up 16%, world wide violence in the middle east up 400%.......et al."

Why So Dumb, Dummy?

Andrew Sullivan and his ilk are really starting to piss me off.

And when I get pissed off I rub my little Greedo figurine.

Are the people over at Foreign Policy - who have criticized Obama for the handling of the Mid-East- 'dumb?' Are economists who criticize his economic policies 'dumb?' Etc.

I've seen and read plenty of smart people question the President.

Go peel a coconut, Sullivan.

***

Other than that, is it me or is Newsweek going out of its way to brand how they market Obama? Notice the same photo-shot of him with his chin up. They try and make him loo 'majestic.'

It's hilarious.

Dunno 'bout you but this is exactly how Mussolini was shown.

Just sayin.'

***

NPR asks:

"Why the subdued response in the U.S.?" in regards to the over-blown movie.

Genius.

Because it's, I don't know, retarded?

I'm guessing the majority of Muslims aren't radical idiots - here or there.

Hence, subdued. I see no point in the question.

***

Let me rephrase Sullivan's junk in that junkie paper Newsweek: How can supporters of Obama be so dumb?

Howard Fineman:

"Unbelievable confidence in the aura of destiny."

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

No fucking wonder liberals were so easily duped by Communists and other curmudgeons in the 20th century. They're romantic goofballs.

"The problem that he had once he got there was that other people, specifically conservative Republicans, didn't hear the music. They did not hear the Obama music. ... Barack obama, I think, was confused by that. How come these people don't see how destined I am. ... They're from a different planet than the one that he's on, and he hasn't figured that out because he never had to deal with conservatives."

He later added: "He's got a superhero's challenge here because he's on a, I keep saying, a different planet than the one he originally was on."

So. He's potentially Bat-Man and Mozart rolled into one. Great. Just fucking great.

Alright. I dedicate this song to President Obama:

Community-Owned No More

I didn't realize just how bad the situation had reached with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I thought they just sucked on the field but not in the office.

Apparently there too sucking is rampant.

Nor did I realize David Asper and his Midas Touch was involved.

"a loan give to the business group which would pay back the government."

I always love reading that line - or some variation thereof.

Factchecking Factcheck.org

Can't trust anyone anymore.

Quote Of The Day

"I think that, you know, as president I bear responsibility for everything, to some degree." President Obama.

I'd like to see a sports coach pull that.

I think most people understand that not everything is one person's fault but I don't believe a leader should pull a "yeah but."

That's just me.

I Dream Of A White Blog

The excellent musical satirist Randy Newman on Slate.

I pull one quote for fun here:

"I’m not sure about a trend, but for me it’s a reaction to the Republican Party, which seems to have drifted farther to the right than a major party has drifted in my lifetime in any direction. It seems to have become almost a radical party. The hate and… I don’t think it’ll last. That kind of thing doesn’t seem to last."

Right. No hate in the Democrat ranks. Right.

Maybe Randy missed the chick at the DNC who wanted to kill Romney. There's 'hate' on Team Blue so let's stop dicking around with that.

I don't know to what degree the "far-right" has infiltrated the GOP but one can just as easily assert - and people do - the far left controls the Democratic party.

Of course, it's a matter of perception too. Some may feel that the GOP is so far right, it's pulling the Democrats to the right.

I do find it interesting that Democratic Presidents can get about as right-wing as you can get on military matters, and that Republican Presidents haven't been allergic to welfare legislation.

***

"I'm dreaming of a white president" is classic Newman.

I like the line referencing Bush and "to start a war." You mean, like the one Obama started without congressional approval in Libya? I mean, it's not like Obama stopped the war in Afghanistan, right?

Here's what I see. And who bleeping cares what I think but here goes.

Maybe there are many Americans who never got used to a black (well, bi-racial) president. But I think it's all part of the process of further moving America forward.

Look, Canada never had a Prime Minister of any nationality other than white Anglo or Franco-Canadian and I don't see us getting all hot about race - and we do have a checkered past on race.

In the end, America did vote for Obama and that achievement is monumental. Rather than sit and stew about the other stuff, why not focus on that? For him to have been elected meant many white people voted for him.

Which brings me to African-Americans. It's well-known they closed ranks with Obama. How come no satire about that?

This Stern segment I recall back in 2008 set it up nicely:

Fromer Anchorman Henry Champ Dies

From CBC.

You know, if there ever was an anchorman that gave an impression of professional honesty on television it was him.

Missed Passings

I hadn't noticed Ron Palillo (Horseshack on Welcome Back, Kotter) and Richard Dawson passed away earlier this year at the age of 63 and 79 respectively.

Man.

Blessing Of Sorts

Up until a couple of weeks ago I had been "training" - more like running on a regular basis - to run the half-marathon in Montreal. Being the competitor I am, I didn't want to 'just run.'

I wanted to be somewhat competitive so I made sure to set an objective and meet it before I committed.

With that small caveat precluding me from signing up early, I attained my goal of running 13 miles in under 1 hour 40 minutes - specifically 1 hour 34. Not bad.

I figured good enough. Alas, by the time I was ready, the marathon wasn't taking in anymore runners as it was filled.

It was a piss off but I spun the disappointment by consoling myself I have more time to train for another marathon - a full one at that.

The marathon was this week-end and lo and behold, I'm sick.

It would have been unfortunate and uncomfortable to run while battling a bad cold.

Tax-Free Holiday A Great Idea

"Anyone that wants to build a, a new factory in this country, whether it’s a American firm or a foreign firm, why don't we give them a, a five-year tax holiday? It doesn't cost anything, right? You’re just deferring the tax revenues that you would ordinary get, but meanwhile you get a factory and you get jobs, and everybody wins."

The above quote is attributed to Paul Otellini (President and CEO Intel) and was found at NPR in a post discussing the organization's liberal bias.

NPR interests me less than the quote itself.

As you may or may not recall, since I started posting my 'Daycare Updates' one of the observations I made early in my business adventure was the amount of taxes new businesses have to fork over.

It struck me then and strikes me now as faulty logic.

Why not provide businesses with a 12, 24 or 36 month grace period of paying no taxes? After all, is it not the best interest of everyone (business owner, proprietor of land, municipality, province, employees, community etc.) if the business succeeds? Perhaps the state doesn't collect up front but is it not more beneficial to think about the long-term?

On my renovation costs alone I forked over $15 000 in taxes I was not allowed to claim back. Do you realize what $15 000 is to a new business? I look at this way: $15 000 less in my pocket ergo $15 000 I have to, in theory, go fetch back in due time. During that period, it slows down my enterprise and ambition (e.g open a second daycare).

We all work within a framework and it is true it has not stopped businesses from expanding. But what people don't see is the time and costs lost to deferring the expansion.

Every second and penny counts, no?

For example, levying payroll taxes on a new enterprise is wasteful. In its early stages, the majority of businesses operate with losses. Charging taxes on top of that only makes it that much more difficult to reach profitability; it defers it.

It's little things like this that help small businesses. These are the creative ideas badly needed to change our archaic views on entrepreneurship.

I laugh my ass off whenever I hear politicians in Quebec or the USA claim they're "not anti-business." Maybe in their minds they may not think so but in their actions they are.

Quebec is horrible at nurturing an innovative entrepreneurial class.

And with the PQ in power, it will only stagger further.

On The Other Hand...Ironies

More military deaths under Obama than Bush.

Or what about his expanding covert wars?

Personally looks over "Secret Kill Lists."  He reads it right next to his Nobel Peace Prize.

Then there's the whole bypassing Congress thing in Libya.

***

Credit to Answer (even though they don't seem to protest publicly anymore) on this one. On this, their view allies with the libertarian perspective:

This is the change in U.S. foreign policy we have gotten from the former “anti-war” presidential candidate that so many well-meaning people supported as a repudiation of the path taken by the Bush administration. That path had led to so much blood spilled, so many lives destroyed and so many resources squandered.

But all we really got was a different figurehead standing at the helm of the same war machine. Riding with Obama is the same clique who rode along with Bush. Gen. Petraeus, who presided over the bloodiest phase of the Iraq war, now presides over the bloody quagmire of Afghanistan. The long-time defense contractor sweetheart Robert Gates was retained as Secretary of Defense (who will likely soon make his exit from the Afghan war debacle). Even Frederick Kagan has been brought on to the strategy team. Kagan is from the viciously neoconservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute and was a close partner to Bush during the troop surge in Iraq.

This is not what the supporters of Obama expected when they voted for a “change.” Washington and the Pentagon are still carving up the world for Wall Street, and paying for it with our blood.
A lot has remained the same. There may be a new administration, but the same generals and corporate interests are standing over the White House. When it comes to whose interests this government and these wars are serving, absolutely nothing has changed.

But what has changed is the number of dead. What has changed is the rate at which they are dying. What has changed is the number of widows, orphans, amputees and psychologically traumatized soldiers.

What has also changed is that the Afghan War Logs, leaked to the public by WikiLeaks, finally show us the reality of the military adventure in Afghanistan. They have revealed what the generals and politicians know and have known, that they are badly losing the war with no chance of “victory.” So the record-setting fatalities in Afghanistan, which continue to spike, are happening so the politicians can avoid the political setback of having lost the war.

The Obama administration has sent more U.S. troops to their deaths in Afghanistan than Bush—but many more are likely to die on Obama’s watch. The resistance in Afghanistan is stronger than ever before, and, as even the Pentagon generals admit, can never be defeated militarily.

Meet the old boss...same as the old boss...*Daltry swing of the mic*

Obama As A Slow Spender

Courtesy of Forbes.

Ever Since I Was A Kid I Wanted To Be A Libfella

I thought it was the Conservatives who were killing Canada. Meh. Nothing to see here. Just the Liberals doing what they do best. Pretend to be "for the people" while sticking a Joe Pesci gun into their gut.

“It astounds me to report on the degree of disregard and contempt that is shown to statutory requirements of the Environmental Bill of Rights,” Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller said as he released part one of his annual report, “Losing Touch.”

“Various ministries persist in hiding environmentally significant decisions from public scrutiny and comment in open defiance of the clear intent of the statute.”

Stay tune for the next episode of Libfellas!

***

Speaking of the mob...more at the Charbonneau inquiry.

Quote Of The Day

"The illustrious Honest Old Abe has continued during the last week to make a fool of himself and to mortify and shame the intelligent people of this great nation. His speeches have demonstrated the fact that although originally a Herculean rail splitter and more lately a whimsical story teller and side splitter, he is no more capable of becoming a statesman, nay, even a moderate one, than the braying ass can become a noble lion. People now marvel how it came to pass that Mr. Lincoln should have been selected as the representative man of any party. His weak, wishy-washy, namby-pamby efforts, imbecile in matter, disgusting in manner, have made us the laughing stock of the whole world. The European powers will despise us because we have no better material out of which to make a President. The truth is, Lincoln is only a moderate lawyer and in the larger cities of the Union could pass for no more than a facetious pettifogger. Take him from his vocation and he loses even these small characteristics and indulges in simple twaddle which would disgrace a well bred school boy."

From The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln by Larry Tagg.

Resolution 3379: The Day The UN Lost Its Legitimacy

And has continued to for some time.

"Zionism equals racism" was about as heinous an intellectual crime as you can get against a people and religion.

 Look at the list of 72 countries that sponsored voted for it. Look at the 35 against.

Nice group in the 72, eh? Name me one in that batch we consider a "respectable" country.

***

The Protocols of the Elders of Sion is a lie. A piece of fiction created by the Russians. That's all it is. It has no legit purpose. It has no standing. Yet, it serves as a key piece of propaganda for the likes of Iran and the Arab world.

The Redistributionist Lie

Obama said he "believe in redistribution back in 1998.

Big deal. Redistribution in some form has been around since, well, sliced bread I reckon.

It doesn't mean he's a Marxist.

The real issue is how far do you want to take it? How does a society or government know when it has over stretched? Redistributed too much?

I think we're finally having that discussion.

As for Obama, here's part of what he said:

"I think the trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot. How do we pool resources at the same time as we decentralize delivery systems in ways that both foster competition, can work in the marketplace, and can foster innovation at the local level and can be tailored to particular communities."
To me, this is sensible and nowhere near being radical.

Journalism? What's That?

Obama: The truth is we've released thousands of papers.

Ramos: But not all of them.

Obama: We’ve released almost all of them.

See what happens when you press a leader?

You get the truth.

Political journalists (I don't know who is worse, them or sports hacks) are worthless pieces of shits. Especially apologists who know they're apologists but feign a professional, non-bias front. Fuck those pukes. Except Anderson Cooper, he restored hope when he did his job and grilled Debbie-Wasserman Schultz and exposed her for the hack that she is.

In ONE Spanish language interview, American journalism was exposed. When you see jaw-dropping crap like this how can anyone not but conclude MSM is in the tank for him?

Obama's strategy of passing the buck and blame, claims of being taken out of context, Republicans blockage and politicking, or blaming the previous administration exploded in this interview.

It's as if the reporters were doing a wanking motion as he spoke. And boy did he talk in tongue, spinning sophist nonsensical explanations. This was a fast-ball soft ball league. Not under 55mph pitches from Wolf Blitzer or MSNBC.

The thing that blew my mind was this:

"I think it's important for us to understand that the Fast and Furious program was a field-initiated program begun under the previous administration," the president said. "When Eric Holder found out about it, he discontinued it."

Even I knew this was not true and the journalists knew it. It did not start under Bush. Bush's Operation Gun-runner was a different plan and was done in concert with the Mexican government. Fast & Furious was a botched secret plan. It's true Holder was absolved but resigning would be the honorable thing to do. Or the President could consider firing him. That's leadership.

"Asked for comment, White House Spokesman Eric Schultz said, “The President was referring to the flawed tactic of gun-walking, which despite Republicans efforts to politicize this issue, began under the previous Administration and it was our Attorney General who ended it.

There they go again. "What he meant to say you right-wing liars is..." It's not an exception but a rule now for Obama to have to explain "what he meant" and have the media spin and defend him. Not bad for a "great communicator."

***

His plan to reduce solve the cartel problem is to "reduce demand." Gee, good one genius. And how do you propose to do this? Double down on the War on Drugs? Go around touching everyone with your golden, mighty finger? Keep drugs away from schools?

I can't fix the economy (we all know why), and the Mid-East just exploded in my face (how can't they not like me?) but I'm gonna reduce America's dependency on drugs.

Jesus fucking christ.

We Come For The Variety, We Come For The Prices

I drove to Plattsburgh, New York today to pick up acoustic dividers for my daycare. Why? Because I paid $569 (including shipping, duty and taxes) for two sets. Retail price here for ONE is $499 plus taxes and accessories bringing the price to $600. For a third of the price I bought two. That's bleeping' why.

$569 or $1200? Gee, lemme me think about that one, Mrs. Rationaleconomics.

We then headed out to Price Chopper to pick up some favorite food items we can't get up here and off we went to the border.

As we handed over the bill for the dividers (I gladly paid the stupid 15% tax), we ended up in a brief exchange with the agent. She couldn't understand why people from St. Jerome, Laval (the North End of Montreal) would drive 1 1/2 hours to go buy food in the States.

Funny, I keep thinking the exact opposite. Why wouldn't you?

Granted, not everything is worth buying. Pasta for example, as I mentioned in past posts, is significantly higher there for some reason. But overall, prices are cheaper. Dairy products, by contrast, are substantially less expensive than ours. I wonder if it has anything to do with Quebec's powerful dairy lobby?

In any event, the agent completely overlooked one important factor. We, people in general, don't necessarily go there to save money. We go there, as I just said earlier, to grab stuff we can't get here.

My wife, for example, can only eat Chex rice cereal. We don't have it here for some outrageous reason. Cereal here is $6. There it's $2. 

I like a sourdough bread brand not available here. I like going to see the fricken bean section and having to choose from 15 different flavors and several companies as opposed to the one or two or three choices here.

Even relish has more variety than up here where it basically comes to Heinz and the store brand or some other company - each with the same recipe.

I want variety!

I picked up Jack Daniel's Mustard today. I also grabbed horseradish with beets and N'Orleans Cajun spice.

Think we drive to Plattsburgh for the culture and scenery? It's purely for rational economic reasons. It's the little things that can't be ignored when it comes to shopping for food.

***

The economy in Plattsburgh, for what it's worth, is still well-regarded.

Nice People

Is It Melting Or Not?

For every time I hear it is, I read that it isn't.

Isn't the earth constantly experimenting climate change?

I Don't Remember

Obama on Letterman, after the latter cautiously and timidly asked what the deficit was when he took over in 2009.

"I don't remember what the number was precisely," Obama said, adding later, "We don't have to worry about it short term. But it is a problem long-term and even medium-term."
But hey...he sounds smart when he says it!

2009: $10.6 trillion
2012: $16 trillion.

That figure should be tattooed in his head.

Rock Canadiana

Sweet City Woman (1971) by The Stampeders (formed 1964 - disbanded 1977 but reunited in 1992).

We Are Not A Cult!

I'm sure this breaks a flag code in some way.

The Other 1%

How is this useless bureau (Consumer Protection Bureau) not looting?

How in the world this doesn't anger people? When. Will. We. Learn?

Politics 101 - EEE. Exploit a perceived wrong. Expand government with another regulatory agency. Employ Cronies. Loot.

The secretary earns $165k?

THOSE ARE TAX DOLLARS.

Word Of Advice To Parti Quebecois

Grow up.

Stop acting like hickish rubes already.

***

By her own account, Ma Tante Marois acknowledges Quebec would face "five years of turbulence" if it separates. I think she's being too charitable. A province that has high welfare figures, low productivity and education graduation rates, high finance debt, persistent mismanagement and corruption higher than most provinces, high union membership, little entrepreneurship needs a lot more than five years to fix.

It will have to basically go all Ireland to even get a chance. That would mean putting Quebec's generous welfare largesse in jeopardy.

***

Imagine these people unleashed in an independent setting. Jeez. They'd see Bogey-men everyhwere.
Bill 101 would become Bill Ali Baba and 1001 Tales.

***

I've known a few Natives in my day. Their take is simple: The tactics Quebec uses against Canada, we will use against them. Just like the "enclave" of Montreal will do. No one will take things sitting down. The PQ did a terrible job of selling their dream to all Quebecers. Part of the reason is because they never truly believed most of us are part of their fabric.

If Canada is divisive. So is Quebec is the Native view.

Best to accept Quebec is an equal, important part of an experiment called Canada.

Political Allegiances Shift And GM Shunned By Congressmen

I never thought they were "latte" Democrats. That would be an insult to latte drinkers.

Whoa!

never thought they were "latte" Democrats. That would be an insult to latte drinkers.

Whoa!

But seriously folks. Washington University in St. Louis educates us on who really votes for which party:

"Fueled by the simplicity of red state-blue state election maps, some pundits have leaped to the conclusion that America is experiencing a landmark shift in traditional political allegiances, with poor, working-class voters leaving the Democratic Party to become “NASCAR Republicans,” while wealthier voters join the ranks of an increasingly elite bunch of liberal, limousine-driving “Latte Democrats.”

"...For decades, Democrats have been viewed as the party of the poor, with Republicans representing the rich. Recent presidential elections suggested a reversal in this pattern, with Democrats performing well in richer “blue” states of the Northeast and West Coast, and Republicans dominating a central swath of poorer “red” states in the South and Midwest...."

"...The bottom line, the study suggests, is that little has changed in terms of income’s general influence on individual voting patterns: in every presidential election since 1952, the richer a voter is, the more likely that voter is to vote Republican, regardless of ethnicity, sex, education or age..."

"...What’s changing, the researchers argue, is how differences in income are playing out at the county and state levels. A key finding is that relative income is a much stronger predictor of voting preferences in poor states than it is in rich states..."

***

Democrats are wealthier than Republicans. I'm gonna guess Democrats tend to inherit their wealth more. Just a hunch.

Anyway, why isn't anyone occupying Pelosi and her financier husband?

Right.

Butttttttttttttttt.

More interesting...look at the chart above. See GM in there anywhere?

Now It Was A Coordinated Terrorist Attack

To those who astutely observe foreign policy, it never was about the movie as the administration tried to contend.

One week later, well, turns out it was a coordinated attack they concede.

This thing has been amateurishly handled from the onset.

Or as Reason puts it:

"...But the Obama administration's handling of the embassy attacks has been an absurd combination of fecklessness, obfuscation and misdirection."

But you know, if it's not the movie, it's Bush.

***

In other news, this has been making the conservative rounds. Obama moving to Hawaii.

Question

If Obama is re-elected, does he inherit a mess?

"It's taking a little longer to fix things. I inherited the mess left by the Founding Fathers."

Two To Tango, Cash

I think Obama has bigger fish to fry, no Chait?

"...Instead the video exposes an authentic Romney as a far more sinister character than I had imagined. Here is the sneering plutocrat, fully in thrall to a series of pernicious myths that are at the heart of the mania that has seized his party."

Instead, Obama's speeches, past comments captured on both video and in paper clippings, people and organizations he associated with, and edited bios that skew his past expose him as an authentic as a far more sinister character than I had imagined. Here is the sneering anti-business, divisive, redistributionist, soft socialist and pseudo-populist pauper, fully in thrall to a series of pernicious myths that are at the heart of the mania that has seized his party.

There.

"...Some pundits have likened Romney’s comments to Barack Obama’s 2008 monologue, also secretly recorded at a fund-raiser, about his difficulties with white working class voters in rural Pennsylvania. But the spirit of Obama’s remarks was precisely the opposite of Romney’s..."

Let me stop you there.

Where have I heard this? Right. The spirit of the "you didn't build the infrastructure" line was taken out of "context." Sure it was.

And the "spirit" of Romeny's point, and there damn well is merit to it, is that too many people - good or bad, lazy or not - are dependent on the welfare state.

"Obama was aspiring to become president of all of America, even that part most hostile to him, in the belief that what they shared mattered more than what divided them. Romney genuinely seems to conceive of the lowest-earning half of the population as implacably hostile parasites."

And Obama genuinely seems to conceive the highest-earning portion of the population as implacably hostile exploiters.

Futurama Nails It

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

House Bill Buffet Rule Act (sarcastically) enacted.

Video Of The Day

My impression is, and this is just my impression, Obama has reversed Kennedy's 'ask not what your country can do for you' to "ask what we can do for you."

Quote Of The Day

This from Elizabeth Warren.

From the DNC:

"The system is rigged."

Nice. Wedge that in, baby.

Proof? Please?

***

Warren: I'm a Cherokee!
Random person in the street: No, you're not.
Warren: I meant Jeep Cherokee!
Random person in the street: Do you like ice-cream? Here's $2, go see the nice middle-class ice-cream man over there. The streets are dangerous at this time of day, honey.

NFL Films Steve Sabol Dies

NFL Films is awesome.

He and his father gave the league an identity on film. I may even go as far as they helped propel football past baseball in the 1960s and 70s.

Happy People

Conservatives and Republicans happiers than Liberals and Democrats.

And they give more out of their pockets.

Oh, well.

*Shakes fist* Damn (conservative) kids, get off my lawn!

100% to 47%

Worried about Romney's 47% comment? Aside from the fact it conveniently comes at a time (released by the liberal-socialist publication Mother Jones) when foreign policy is taking a beating and the economy continues to suck, the cold hard reality is Obama has defined his presidency along the us v. them mentality.

Romney's numbers may be off, but Obama is pure class warfare 100% of the time.

One gets a pass, the other not is all.

My question is, does Obama in fact benefit from what Romney asserts?

I can't see how he doesn't.

The real question is how entitlements - whether they expand under either party - are wrecking the nation's finances.

From John Goodman's (not the actor) Health Policy Blog:

"...Entitlements are nothing more than taking from Peter and giving to Paul. They are consuming an ever increasing share of federal spending and they are the principal reason for one of two nightmares in our future: (1) ever-increasing deficits for as far as the eye can see or (2) an ever-increasing tax burden...."

It's spending and entitlement bankrupting the West. Not the 1%.

Sober Take On Ryan

From the Financial Times.

Libertarian website Reason was among the first to call Ryan out as a spending conservative.

Good call. Unlike when they endorsed Obama in 2008. A momentary lapse of reason perhaps? Readers will never let them live this down.

Poof!

That's the sound of bull shit deflating.

Taxpaying Breakdown In The U.S.

Breaking down why 46% of Americans don't pay taxes.

Equalization Is A Myth

And really, it doesn't take a genius to know why. Equalization is another way of saying "redistribution of wealth." Which is basically taking from one more productive side and giving to a less productive side. It makes us feel good inside to do it, but in reality it's useless and wasteful.

If there were no payments, people would go to where the wealth is. They do this in the U.S. Humans always did this.

From Le Quebecois Libre:

"...Our view, based on economic theory and empirical evidence, suggests instead that interregional adjustments in the Canadian integrated economy take the form of people mobility rather than price or per capita income changes. People move to high growth regions and abandon lagging regions..."

"...Borrowing from a study by the Frontier Institute, MacKinnon (2010) argues similarly that citizens of provinces that are major contributors to federal equalization programs have less access to more vital public services than citizens of the provinces that have been historically the recipients of these payments..."

"...Our view, based on economic theory and empirical evidence, suggests that interregional adjustments in the Canadian integrated economy take the form of people mobility rather than price or per capita income changes. Growth in the economy and the population is capitalized in the price of land, the main resource in fixed supply.(1) Land is bid up in the more prosperous regions, and bid down in provinces that experience low population increase. This adjustment process continues until real incomes have equalized across regions. Over time, lagging regions advantages in lower land prices compensate for their lower nominal incomes...."

"...Between 1920 and 2000, per capita income variations across the U.S. have significantly declined despite wide movements in populations. The share of population in the West has almost tripled, while significant declines occurred in the Northeast and the Midwest. Mobility has been considerable. Yet the distribution of per capita income has narrowed over the century. Using urban price indices, Mitchener and McLean (1999) have produced estimates of average regional real incomes between 1880 and 1980. At the end of the period, real income dispersion per worker between the four big regions remained extremely low. With a national average equal to 100, interregional variations in 1980 ranged from 96 to 105. We conclude that over time, regional adjustments to varying growth rates took the form, not of price and income dispersion, but of quantity adjustments...."

"...The Government of Quebec in particular has traditionally defended the level of equalization payments it receives on the basis of its supposedly lower GDP per capita relative to that of Ontario and to the average of all provinces combined. This is precisely the question that we address in this paper: Does the level of per capita income effectively vary across provinces? In national, integrated economies, overall GDP and per capita income move in the same direction.

Because of this association, observers often assume that the same relation holds at the regional levels. Actually, adjustments to interregional growth differentials are realized by product and factor mobility, not by prices, with the exception of the price of land and of non-tradable local services like hairdressing salons. Quantities, not prices or incomes, adjust. Slow-growing regions should therefore have as high per capita real income as fast growing ones, even though they grow at a lower rate. Growth differentials are capitalized in the price of land and of local services, the only prices that vary across the economy. > Land price differentials across the country thus provide an immediate and easy-to-observe measure of interregional growth. The significance of the analysis for equalization is obvious. Since there is no significant gap in real per capita income between slow-growth regions and the rest of Canada, the level of equalization payments received by each province should be similar, most likely zero for each."

"...One widely accepted critique of the equalization program holds that it has magnified regional income disparities by preventing workers from moving to their most productive location outside slow growth regions. It is true that productivity is negatively impacted by equalization.

Equalization does reduce the mobility of resources, of human capital in particular. Fewer people have moved from Quebec and from the Atlantic Provinces to more prosperous regions of Canada. But observed real income convergence invalidates the conclusion that interregional income disparities are increased.

What equalization does is make explicit the transfer of the burden of lagging provinces to other regions of Canada. Absent equalization, higher growth, higher land rents and higher wages would have ensued in Alberta, Ontario and B.C., thanks to lower taxation and higher immigration. Their growth is negatively impacted. High-growth provinces are the first victims of fiscal equalization. Yet lagging provinces have gained nothing. They have lost in less depressed land prices and lower nominal wages what they have gained in subsidies. They also share in the reduced per capita income across the country. Equalization is self-defeating, a pure waste. Furthermore, provincial politicians are induced by equalization to be less responsible and to enact measures that limit economic freedom...."

And this is why, in part, Quebecers have less disposable income. We don't know how to make money here. We're just good at playing social engineering.

Il nord lavoro, il sudo mangia is the old Northern nationalist saying in Italy.

***

The PQ are notorious for leveraging equalization into their favor and using it as a political weapon. While they busy themselves taking down the Canadian flag in the National Assembly, they are quick to demand cash from Ottawa.

It's what I call the mindset of losers.